Bennett Calls for Quarter-Cent Hike in Sales Tax

Ventura County voters would be asked to increase sales taxes by one-quarter of a cent in November to pay for a countywide land conservation district, under a proposal by county Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Bennett.

In a letter to his board colleagues, Bennett said preliminary results from a survey showed that a general sales tax increase of half a cent would not fly with voters. County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston is recommending that supervisors instead proceed with a measure seeking a one-quarter-cent increase on the fall ballot.

In agreeing with Johnston, Bennett wrote that approving the one-quarter-cent increment Tuesday would give staff members maximum time to craft the proposed ballot ordinance. Supervisors had not been scheduled to make a decision on the measure’s funding mechanism until May 11.